Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have had to quickly adapt to a new way of working, trading office space for the bedroom or kitchen table. After the success of this work format, many enterprises continued to allow their employees to remain in remote or hybrid work. Despite the benefits of remote work in helping people achieve a better work-life balance, its long-term consequences can be a health concern.
At least, this is the conclusion that experts from the British furniture company Furniture At Work came to. By collaborating with health experts, they have researched the potentially dangerous effects of working from home on human health. But the most exciting thing here is the visualization of their work using a 3D model of a future person whose body has physically changed due to the constant use of laptops and smartphones, poor posture and unhealthy diet.
The girl in the images is named Anna, and the study says we could all likely turn into her by 2100.
This is Anna - a model of a person who has been working from home for many years.
British health experts and 3D designers created Anna in an attempt to predict how remote work might affect human health.
Regular use of technology leading to poor posture has always been a risk, but with many people working from home choosing to do it from the couch or right in their bed, the situation may only get worse. Only some people have the space or money for a professional home desk, and that means you'll spend hours every day with an arched back and a tense neck.
Years of doing this can throw your spine out of balance and pull your torso forward from your hips, leading to a hunched back.
Remote workers should take regular breaks to stretch and move around to avoid back and neck pain when working from home. It is also essential to buy ergonomic furniture that supports posture. The chair should have a straight back, and the table top should be at the right height so that you can rest your hands comfortably while you type.
Anna's hands show significant anatomical changes caused by the widespread use of technology.
"Text claw" is a term that describes finger spasms and muscle pain after continuous fine motor activities. Long hours of using a mouse or smartphone while working from home, twisting your fingers into unnatural positions can lead to repetitive strain injuries and forming this very "text claw."
Anna's lifestyle
The 3D model of Anna is overweight. Because she does not leave the house and regularly snacks, she has pale and unhealthy skin, and inactivity and excess weight have led to swollen limbs.
There are a number of reasons why people who work from home may gain weight. You can stay in your home to get to the office, where you'll likely be going to different conference rooms and taking regular restroom and drink breaks. Being inactive at home can make you more likely to gain weight, get diabetes, or develop heart disease.
Working from home also means you must be farther from the snack buffet (depending on the company, some always have goodies on hand).
Anna has dark, puffy eyes from years of squinting and looking at a laptop or smartphone without sufficient natural light.
Every 20 minutes, experts say, take a 20-second break from the computer and focus on something 6 meters away. This is a great way to avoid eye strain while working from home.
But Anna's problems are not only in her physical condition.
furniture-workAn office is not just a workplace but an opportunity for personal communication with colleagues. The lack of these social interactions can lead to isolation, anxiety and depression among remote workers, especially those who live and work alone.
Without a precise work-life balance, working hours, or a designated place to return to at the end of each workday, the anxiety of not knowing when to switch off becomes unbearable. We may feel like we never take time away from work, which leads to burnout.
So, as the project's creators say, remote work can also cause mental damage over a long distance.
It is important to note that, as often happens in such projects, all the consequences here are wildly exaggerated, and the purpose of the study is not to scare you with "deadly remote work," but to encourage you to monitor your health, no matter how you work.
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